


The Dog Food Diet

by noxsoulmate



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Based on a Tumblr Post, Castiel Big Bang 2017, Established Relationship, First Meetings, Fluff, Fun, M/M, Marriage Proposal, funny Castiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-04
Updated: 2017-04-04
Packaged: 2018-10-14 15:03:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10538892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noxsoulmate/pseuds/noxsoulmate
Summary: When a new significant other is brought to a family celebration, the typical stories ensue. Like when and how did a certain couple meet? Or what was the best proposal? In the Winchester-Novak clan, the title of “Funniest ‘How we first met’-Story” will forever be in the hands of Castiel and his husband Dean.





	

**Author's Note:**

> The first of my five entries for the Castiel Big Bang 2017 - yes, you read that right ^^" I was a bit crazy, but it was so much fun. Especially with my wonderful artist for this fic, [bruisedcastiel](http://bruisedcastiel.tumblr.com/) :D she was so motivated, the art was done weeks ago and I really love it ^_^ thanks again so much!
> 
> This fic started out as a crack fic based on the tumblr post you'll find at the end - but then the Castiel Big Bang came along, so I decided to add a bit to meet the minimum word count and here we go. Have fun :D

It was a loud affair, just like any other big Winchester-Novak Holiday Family Dinner. This time, it wasn’t a holiday per se, but there was something to celebrate – but we’ll get to that later.

The reason why it was so loud wasn't hard to explain. After all, there were almost 30 people in the backyard. At the center of it all were the hosts, Dean and Castiel Winchester-Novak, married for two years and three months at that time. They wore matching huge and happy smiles, surrounded by their loved ones and still the only two to know the real reason for this celebration. Actually, they had many reasons to celebrate, but the only one their family knew about, yet, was the opening of Cas’ own practice as a Physical Therapist.

Gabriel, one of Cas’ brothers, also used this dinner to introduce his new girlfriend, a lovely soul by the name Hannah. The two lovebirds had just finished their story about how they’d met and as was expected, everyone “awwed” and wished them all the luck in the world. Other stories were traded, just those typical “you remember when?” and “oh, tell that one again”-stories that happen at every family reunion.

Soon, it became a challenge between the couples. The most romantic proposal, the best present ever, the cutest first meeting. Yet, when all was said and done, everybody in their clan knew: no one would ever beat Castiel and Dean’s first meeting as the funniest of them all. It most certainly was one of those “tell it just one more time”-stories and seeing how Hannah hadn’t yet heard it, Cas had the honor of telling it once more.

 

~*~*~*~

 

** Five years ago **

Cas was seriously annoyed by now. Why the heck did people use the fast lane when they had more than ten items? The sign clearly stated “10 items or less” and it was even illuminated for fucks sake. Besides that, it was common courtesy not to use it when one had a whole cart full of junk food.

Readjusting the two forty pound bags of dry dog food in his arms so one of his hands was free, he got his phone out to check the time. Okay, good. He still had enough time before he had to pick up Claire from her piano lesson. His brother Jimmy would kill him if he got there even thirty seconds late to pick up the little princess. Cas couldn’t blame him, he would be the same if it was his daughter. To be honest, he was the same with his niece, so he really didn’t need this hold up in the lane right now. Especially not since he was in the fast lane, God damnit.

Putting his phone back in his pocket, he readjusted the two bags once more and then turned left and right, just to have something to do. Finally, he leaned against the edge of the conveyor, which gave him a good view of the people behind him. And hello there, eye candy.

Directly behind him was a young woman, but that certainly wasn’t who had caught his eye – even though she was smiling at him with pretty obvious interest. No, the guy just behind her was pretty hard to miss. He was playing with his phone and carried the same kind of dog food brand as Cas. Well, if that wasn’t a coincidence. He looked smoking hot in his ripped jeans, a Batman shirt with a loose flannel shirt over it. Too bad he was looking down, Cas would have loved to have seen his face. Because the little bit he could see was quite promising.

“So, you have a dog?”

Cas needed a second to realize that the girl between him and the living Adonis had been talking to him. Especially since Adonis had looked up at the question and holy shit. Cas had no words to describe how amazingly green those eyes were. Someone seriously needed to name a color after them.

Nevertheless, Cas was still a gentleman (well, kind of) and someone had spoken to him. Tearing his gaze away from Adonis, he looked down at the petite blonde and tried to remember the question. “Ehm, what?”

“The dog food. I was asking if you had a dog.”

This time, he had heard the question, but it still took him more of his brain cells than usual to process it. Was she fucking kidding him? Like, seriously?

“No,” Cas replied, reacting purely on instinct. Because why the hell not, he had time after all. “No, I don’t have a dog. I’m actually starting the dog food diet again.” The reaction to his revelation was the funniest he had seen in a long while. Adonis’ eyes widened and a grin formed on his kissable lips. The girl’s reaction, however, was what made Cas almost lose his cool. Her eyes almost popped out before they started to shine like she’d just found God. Was she really that stupid?

“Oh, I’ve never heard of that diet.”

Cas seriously wasn’t a judgmental person and neither was he the type of guy to just mess with people, but this girl was clearly asking for it. He could tell she wanted him to unveil all the secrets about this new kind of miracle diet while simultaneously assuring her that she didn’t need one with a body like hers.

He certainly wouldn’t do the second part, but the first … well, why not, he had a bit of time.

“Seriously, you haven’t?” he asked in a mock surprised tone. “I probably shouldn’t start it again, because I ended up in the hospital last time. But it’s simply the best, I swear. I lost fifty pounds before I woke up in intensive care with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms.” Honestly, he had no idea where all this was coming from, but the reaction of the Adonis behind him made it all so worth it. The guy was biting his lips (making Cas a bit jealous that it wasn’t him biting them), trying not to laugh.

“Oh my God, that’s awful.”

What now?

Right, the fake story.

“Oh, it was. But besides that, it was the perfect diet for me.”

“How does it work?”

Seriously? Was this person even real? Checking quickly on his other side, Cas saw that he could finally put his stuff down on the conveyor, but there were still a few people in front of him. Which, by the way, were all listening intently, all in various states of amusement and disbelief. Seemed like the girl wasn’t the only person that had the IQ of a piece of bread. Oh well, back to his story then.

“Well, all you do is to load your pockets with those food nuggets and then you simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry.” By now, Cas was on a roll. Remembering he still had some of the nuggets in his jeans pocket from this morning’s walk, he quickly pulled them out to show her. He swore to God, should she reach for one to try it, he really would end up in intensive care. “See? The food is nutritionally complete so it works well. I’m totally going to try it again.”

He almost broke down when the girl really did reach for one of the nuggets, picking it up. At this point, Adonis let out a soft snort of laughter, almost breaking Cas’ own façade. The girl turned around – only to see the same dog food bag in the guy’s hands as well. The question that followed was inevitable. “Have you heard of this diet before?”

It was like time froze for just a moment as the guy’s green eyes met his and a silent understanding formed between them. Then Adonis looked back at the girl.

“Of course, already done it twice and you can see the result in front of you.” He even wiggled his eyebrows and shit, Cas was so gone on the guy. And that voice, Jesus.

“But,” the girl suddenly said, turning back towards Cas. He had to school his face quickly. Her next question seriously gave him the rest. “How did you end up in the ICU? Was it because the dog food poisoned you?”

This. Was. Too. Much.

However, if anyone was the master of deadpan, sarcastic replies, it most certainly was Castiel.

“No, I stepped off a curb to sniff a poodle’s ass and a car hit me.”

The girl only gaped at him while Adonis couldn’t hold it anymore, roaring with laughter. He wasn’t the only one, the line in front of him – finally down to just three more customers with indeed ten or less items – laughed as well. At long last, the blonde seemed to realize that he was joking and that none of what he had been telling her was real. She turned beet red, but it seemed to be a mix of embarrassment and anger.

“You ass,” she exclaimed, leaving the line and hurrying back into the store, probably to hide away. Or to buy some dog food, who knew.

Adonis was still laughing while he stepped up to close the gap the girl had left and put his own dog food on the conveyor.

“God, thank you, man. I haven’t laughed like that in a long while.”

“I can’t believe she actually believed me,” Cas replied, still slightly awestruck by the stupidity of some people and still looking at the aisle the girl had vanished.

Adonis followed his gaze for a moment before turning back, a mischievous grin on his lips. “Think she’s gonna buy a bag?”

Cas huffed out a laugh while he pulled his wallet out so he was ready for his turn. “Probably won’t do anything for her body, but dogs are incredibly clever animals. Maybe it’s all in the food and it will help her after all.”

They shared a grin and laughed again while Cas paid for his items. He took his time putting the credit card back in his wallet and then the wallet back in his pocket. Checking the time again, he was relieved to see he still had a few more minutes before he needed to hit the road.

All the stalling had the desired effect and Adonis was done as well by the time he picked up his two bags.

“So,” the gorgeous man began. “I guess the right question would have been: What _kind_ of dog do you have?”

Grinning, Castiel was pleased to detect a flirty note in the man’s voice. This could get interesting.

“Or she could have gone the old fashioned way and simply asked for my name,” Cas replied, winking at the man as they stepped out into the beautiful early summer weather. In the sun, the man’s smile was even more dazzling.

“Yeah, or that. Or, she could have been sneaky without searching for a lame intro to a conversation.”

“Oh?” Cas replied, seriously intrigued. “How would she have done that?”

“Easy,” Adonis replied, holding out a hand to Castiel. “Hey, I’m Dean Winchester.”

“Castiel Novak,” Cas replied automatically, taking the man’s hand. Only once Dean’s smile grew wider did Cas realize what he’d just done. “Damn,” he huffed out, groaning about falling for the trap. Chuckling, he still held on to Dean’s hand. “Well then, Dean,” no, he absolutely did not let that name roll off his lips in a lascivious way. “Tell me how this conversation would continue.”

“Well, I could tell you that it’s a nice day today.”

At that, Cas eyebrow shot up. Seriously? The weather small-talk?

“That, in fact, it’s just the right day for an evening stroll through the city park over by the lake.”

_Oh._

“Maybe I’ll be there later. Let’s say around seven.”

With that, Dean let go of his hand and threw him one last wink, before casually strolling away. Hot damn, did he have a nice backside.

_Wait, shit._

Had this Adonis just given him time and place for a date? And then just walked away? That was … that was …

Damn, that was sexy as fuck.

One thing was for sure: Cas liked it when a man was confident.

“Alright, game on,” he said to no one but himself. “Seven it is.” And apropos of time. “Shit,” pulling out his cellphone to check again, he made a mad dash for his car. Breaking some speed limits, he made it to the piano school one minute before Claire stepped out onto the sidewalk.

 

~*~

 

Cas dropped his favorite (and only) niece off at her parents at a quarter to seven that night. He always loved having her over, even if it was just for a few hours. But he was also man enough to admit that today he was a bit distracted. Thankfully, Claire hadn’t noticed. She gave him a kiss on his cheek, opened the passenger door and got out, yelling, “bye Uncle Cas, bye Luke,” while already halfway to the front door.

Chuckling, Cas waited until the door opened and Claire disappeared. He answered Amelia’s waving and then pulled away from the curb.

“Alright, buddy. Ready to take another route today and maybe make new friends?” A cold nose appeared by his ear, nosing him just enough to tickle him. “Argh, Luke, don’t.” Playfully, he pushed the big Airedale Terrier back but left his hand there for his friend to lick and even chew on a bit.

“Promise you’ll be on your best behavior?” The nose appeared at his ear again, making Cas chuckle. No one could tell him dogs didn’t understand what you told them.

He made it to the park with two minutes to spare. Pulling into the parking lot, he realized for the first time that Dean hadn’t told him where exactly they would be meeting. His nerves settled the moment he looked towards the entrance and saw Dean leaning against one of the pillars.

“Okay Luke, remember. Best behavior. You’ll get an extra treat if you make me look good tonight.”

Grabbing the leash from behind his seat, he ignored the cold nose in his hair and got out of the car. Dean had apparently already spotted him, as he smiled and waved at him. Cas waved back before stepping to the back seat door, opening it to let Luke jump out. Obviously excited about all the new places, Luke trotted first here, then there, not knowing where first to go. And so far, they were only in the parking lot.

“Hey there,” Dean greeted him, pushing away from the pillar. Did Cas detect a slight nervousness? Maybe Mr. Adonis wasn’t as confident as he had made it seem. Cas found he liked it even more than his confidence.

“Hey, yourself,” Cas replied with a smile which Dean returned in kind. Cas had to force himself to break eye contact so he could function again. Looking around, all he could see was Luke, still roaming around and close enough to Cas, just as he knew he should. However, there was no dog close to Dean. “So,” Cas began, looking around once more before grinning back at Dean. “Do you have a dog?”

The man huffed out a chuckle before turning around and whistling once. Cas could hear some rustle in the undergrowth around the pillars, but no big dog could hide there without being seen, right? Certainly, Dean was the type of man that had something even bigger than Luke, like a Great Dane or a Wolfhound, right?

Maybe Cas had jumped to conclusions too quickly because what came out of the undergrowth was the furthest from his speculations. It was, in fact, a small version of Luke.

“A little Welsh Terrier? Really?”

“Hey, no judgment,” Dean replied, but Cas was sure he knew Cas was just messing with him because there was no real defensiveness in his tone. “Leia is a fierce hunter and warrior.”

“Leia?” Cas looked back at the man, stunned.

Dean seemed to misunderstand his question, as he looked incredulously at him. “Seriously? Please tell me you know _Star Wars_?”

This was getting better and better. Instead of answering him directly, Cas let out a whistle. Internally throwing up his fist in a victory gesture as Luke listened to him right away, he waited until his friend was sitting right in front of him before patting him and looking down. “Good boy, Luke.”

Looking back up, he threw a wink at Dean, who just huffed a laugh in disbelief. Before they could say any more, Leia was on Luke, sniffing here and there, trying to get him to play. Luke looked back up it Cas as if to ask what the matter was with this little menace. Patting his head again, Cas grinned at his dog. “Hey, I told you we were going to make new friends. It’s not my fault this one is a Mini-me of you.”

He gave him a little nudge and at last, Luke deemed it alright to rise and let the little whirlwind dance around him. Leia seemed to know exactly where they were going, as she ran ahead of them, barking for Luke to follow, only to come back when her new friend wasn’t fast enough. The game repeated again and again before Luke had even set his first paw inside the park.

“Well, shall we?” Dean asked, reminding Cas that his dog wasn’t the only one who wanted to make new friends.

“Lead the way.”

Despite their heavy flirting back at Walmart, their conversation was now considerably tame. There was still the occasional flirting, but mostly they had a normal conversation. Just two adults getting to know each other. Both of their dogs behaved and after the initial aloofness, Luke warmed up to Leia fairly quick.

On the other side of the lake, they sat down on a bench for a short break. It was probably around eight by now, but Dean had been right: it was a nice, warm evening. Watching their dogs trying to hunt some ducks near the water’s edge, Cas couldn’t hold it back any longer.

“Okay, seriously, I’m not judging, but: a little Welsh?”

“And what is wrong with that?” Dean asked, a grin playing around his lips.

Cas kept his eyes on the water. “Nothing, I guess. I’d just thought you would have something bigger.”

“Why? Because it’s _manlier_?”

Cas could tell Dean was mocking him, the assbutt knew exactly what Cas meant. Instead of denying it, Cas deadpanned, “Yeah, exactly. You simply don’t strike me as the guy with a dog the perfect size to carry in your purse.”

“That’s probably because you’ve never seen me with my manbag,” Dean replied in a serious tone, making Cas whip his head around to look at him. The damn wink told him that Dean had gotten the better of him once again. “I look quite dashing with it on my arm.”

Rolling his eyes, he pushed against Dean’s arm, only making the man laugh harder.

When he had calmed down, Dean explained. “You’re not so far off with your assumption. Leia was a present from Sam, my brother. He knew I wanted a dog and he thought it funny to give me a cute little lap dog. He wouldn’t stop laughing at the thought of her in my garage while I’m fixing cars. The little shit actually thought I’d have enough of her after the first week and give her away.”

Cas looked at Dean in shock, but Dean was quick to amend.

“Don’t worry. Sam’s real plan was to give her to his fiancée, who wanted a dog as well. But Karma’s a bitch and the plan backfired. Leia totally grew on me and I nearly ripped my brother’s head off when he wanted to take her away from me.”

Seemed like under all this cocky Adonis façade was a big softie – good to know.

“What did he do? About his fiancée, I mean?”

“He took her to a rescue center and let her pick one. She got them a Great Dane.”

The memory made Dean chuckle and Cas joined in with his laughter.

They started on the rest of the circuit.

“What about you? How did you come to choose an Airedale?”

“I guess because we just always had one. My parents got our first one when I was four. They’d thought about the breed for a long time and finally decided on this because they’re known to be very good with babies and little kids. After that, we couldn’t live without them anymore. My parents have number three and four right now.”

“Two of them at the same time?”

“Yeah, brothers actually. We just couldn’t decide which one to take. They both wanted to be part of our family.”

Instead of laughing about that statement, Dean simply hummed as if in agreement. The man was getting one plus point after another. If he continued like that, Cas would ask for his hand in marriage by the time they finished their stroll around the lake.

“Anyway. Even though I still count those two as my dogs as well, they live with my parents. As soon as I was able to live in a place where I could have a dog this size, I got Luke.”

“And did he pick you or did you pick him?” Dean asked in all seriousness, which was another plus point for him.

“He fell into my hands, so I guess we picked each other,” Cas replied, smiling at the sweet memory of the little ball of fur stumbling over his own paws and flopping down right in front of Cas, only to land in his outstretched hands.

They were silent for a little while before returning back to trivial topics about their lives. All too soon they were back at the parking lot, putting both dogs in their cars.

For a moment, Cas feared that their goodbye would be awkward, but thankfully, Dean didn’t let that happen. “So, tomorrow, same time, same place?”

Most likely, Cas’ wide grin gave away just how much he liked the idea. “Absolutely.”

They smiled at each other once more before Dean waved goodbye and got into his car. Once Cas was seated in his own, he did a little victory dance – which most likely looked ridiculous, sitting in a car and all. But the only one to see and judge was Luke and he already knew Cas’ quirky side.

Turning around, he ruffled his best friend’s head before giving him three nuggets for being such a good boy. Leaving the parking lot, he couldn’t wait for the next day to come.

 

~*~*~*~

 

It didn’t stay at just their evening walks.

Soon, Dean and Leia joined Cas and Luke during their morning jogs through the smaller park over on Cas’ side of the town. Shortly after that, Dean would come over to Cas’ house for movie marathons and to give him cooking and baking lessons, since Cas was helpless in the kitchen. They jokingly called it playdates for their dogs.

Only that it didn’t take too long to become real “playdates” for the grown-ups. They’d made it almost six weeks of mutual attraction before giving in. It was all thanks to a very messy baking lesson that involved copious amounts of pie filling and some very sticky honey. That part, however, was never fully told on family reunions and not even Luke and Leia knew the whole story as to how their “parents” got together.

It took another year for Cas to finally ask Dean to move in with him, and yet almost another year for Dean to man up and ask Cas to marry him. The proposal, even though not the most romantic one of the Winchester-Novak clan (that title belonged to Sam and his proposal during his valedictory after finishing law school), was also a story that always needed to be told.

 

~*~*~*~

 

** Three years ago **

Dean had taken Castiel back to the bench where they had sat during their first date, a picnic-basket promising a perfect lunch. When the time came, he asked Cas to open the basket and grab their meal. As Cas opened the top, he could only stare at what he found inside.

“If this is your way of telling me I need a diet, it’s not really funny,” he grumbled, looking at all the nuggets of kibble.

Soft lips landed on his temple and his boyfriend’s soft chuckle appeased him a bit.

“No,” Dean finally answered. “This is me, reminding us both of the day I promised myself that I would marry you one day.”

Hardly believing what he had just heard, Cas looked up from the nuggets in the basket. But Dean wasn’t sitting next to him anymore. Instead, he was now kneeling right in front of him, a black velvet box in his hand.

Castiel’s eyes went wide and before his boyfriend could say anything or at least show him the ring, he breathed out, “Yes!”

“I haven’t even asked yet,” Dean protested, but Cas didn’t listen.

“I don’t care, the answer is Yes,” he reaffirmed, throwing his arms around Dean and kissing him with all he had. Not expecting the sudden attack, Dean lost his balance and tumbled onto the picnic blanket, pulling Cas with him, hardly breaking their kiss at all.

Only Luke’s wet muzzle and Leia’s damp paws finally brought them back to reality. They sat up and Dean was finally able to officially ask Cas and to put the ring on his finger. He got the picnic basket down, pulling the top layer with all the nuggets out and throwing them on the grass, so Luke and Leia were occupied with searching for the treats. Under the top layer, their real food was waiting: Pie with just the right filling, some honey, strawberries, and of course champagne.

It might not have been the most romantic proposal in their family – but it was certainly the perfect proposal for the two of them.

 

~*~*~*~

 

** Present day **

“Aww, I think your proposal totally deserves to be number one, along with the way you met,” Hannah told them once Cas had finished their story. Grinning, Cas thanked her before pressing a tender kiss on his husband’s cheek.

“You only say that because you haven’t heard Sam’s full story yet,” Claire threw in, starting the next story to be told.

Cas only listened halfheartedly. Not because the story bored him, but because there was something else, something so much more important on his mind. When he caught his husband’s loving gaze, he knew he wasn’t the only one thinking of the exciting news they had to share with their family.

Looking around the garden, Castiel once more reveled in the huge and loving family they had around them. His life was perfect the way it was, and soon, it would be even more perfect.

As the evening grew darker, Dean went to switch on all the little fairy lights they had positioned around the garden, while Cas and Sam went to light the lanterns that had been hung up for the celebration. Little kids were taken to bed and blankets were handed around. The night grew quieter, even Luke, Leia, and Sam’s Great Dane Chewie had settled down for the night, lying on their pillows on the porch, fast asleep.

Cas was snuggled up close to his husband, waiting for Gabriel to finish his latest story, before looking expectantly at Dean. It was now or never and his husband nodded at him, hardly able to contain his smile.

Leaning forward, Dean knocked a teaspoon against one of the champagne flutes.

“Oh no, Dean. The night can’t be over yet,” Sarah complained, even though she was half asleep and all cuddled up against Sam.

Dean grinned at her. “It’s not, promise. But Cas and I thought it was time to tell you.”

“Tell us what?” Sam asked, looking as confused as the rest of them.

Cas sat up as well, no longer leaning against Dean. “The real reason for this celebration.”

“The real …? Wait, so you’re not going to open your own practice?” Gabriel asked, looking stunned at the announcement.

“No, of course I am,” Cas reassured him. “It’s just not the main reason we’re here tonight.”

There was a pregnant pause, both men wanting to draw out the suspense and excitement.

“Tell us!” Jimmy finally burst out, the first to break from all the tension.

Smiling at each other, it was Cas who finally exclaimed, “We’re going to be parents!”

Everybody needed a second to take in the information, none of them even knowing that Dean and Castiel had planned to have kids in the near future. Once it registered, the celebration was a loud affair. There were hugs and congratulations and kisses and well wishes everywhere. Even the dogs woke up and while Chewie just lay back down, Luke and Leia went over to their parents, lying down at their feet and both letting out a content sigh before falling back asleep.

When everybody was in their seats again, Cas and Dean had to explain what was going on. They had filed for adoption eleven months ago, not telling anybody because they had been anxious enough without family and friends constantly asking if there were any updates. Two months ago, they’d finally been contacted. A young girl had become pregnant too early in her life and wanted a loving family for her child. They’d met with her many times by now and ten days ago, she had finally agreed to them adopting her soon to be born child. It was only a matter of a few more weeks.

Their family, although stunned that there would be a new addition to their clan so very soon, was bursting with joy. And while they already discussed how far on top this “baby-announcement” ranked within their families, Castiel cuddled back into his husband’s arms and closed his eyes, simply enjoying the good life they had.

 

 

**~ The End ~**

 

**Based on this tumblr post**

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it <3
> 
> As always huge thanks to my lovely beta Sarah ([Feathers7501](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Feathers7501/))


End file.
